'No culprits held even after 18 months': Madras HC questions police inaction in Vengaivayal drinking water contamination case

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Monday wondered why even after 18 months, the police could not arrest the culprits responsible for mixing human faeces in a tank that supplied drinking water to Scheduled Caste residents of Vengaivayal village in Pudukottai district

The first bench of acting Chief Justice R Mahadevan and Justice Mohammed Shaffiq was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) moved by K Rajkamal seeking to complete the investigation into the matter.

The CB-CID filed a status report along with a final charge sheet pursuant to the court's directions.

The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the state had not been able to arrest even a single person since the inhumane incident happened in December 2022.    

After the submission, the bench wondered why the police were taking so long to arrest the accused even after 18 months had passed. The state was only filing report after report, which was not enough, observed the bench.

Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran submitted that the investigation is at its fag end and that until now, 389 witnesses have been investigated and polygraph tests conducted by the CB-CID.

He also submitted that notices have been served to three suspects in this regard.

If any concrete evidence was received, the state would not wait for a minute to arrest the culprits, the AAG stated.

Further, he added that the one-man commission appointed by the Madras High Court, chaired by retired Justice M Sathyanarayanan, to investigate the incident, is yet to file their final report.

After the submission, the bench posted the matter for further hearing after two weeks and directed the state to come up with a concrete plan to complete the probe.

In December 2022, initially two children, who took ill, from Vengaivayal were admitted to the Pudukkottai Government Medical College Hospital. When more patients from the same village turned up for infection, authorities advised an analysis of the drinking water. It was found later that human faeces was mixed in water stored in the overhead tank which supplied drinking water to the Scheduled Caste residential neighbourhood.